By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: (Getty)
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski had tremendous chemistry on the football field—one of the greatest QB-TE tandems in football history.
Brady joined the “New Heights” podcast, hosted by his brother Jason and Travis Kelce, where they talked about what made Gronkowski special on those Patriots teams.
“Gronk was really unique,” Brady said. “I think Gronk was the greatest blocking tight end in history. Gronk could handle defensive ends. He was at the point of attack in the run game. We didn’t care. We would rather go to Gronk than the open side tackle a lot of the time.”
Gronk’s size and strength made him an unstoppable force. Brady realizes and understands how important he was to the team. Gronk has a fun-loving personality and is very outgoing. Brady highlights some underrated aspects of his game. Gronk was also an exceptional pass catcher.
“As a pass catcher, he was never going to be like the twitchiest,” Brady said. “His straight line when he would run seam routes, middle reads or flat routes, he was off the charts. So there was just one part of his game that came very naturally to him. He was a really natural athlete, and I think our environment kept him really serious, which I think is probably a good thing for him in the end because I think if he were on another team where the coach let him get away with a lot of stuff, Gronk maybe would have veered a little that way. Still, our team made him a little more confined.”
Playing for the New England Patriots requires a mature mindset. Having a coach like Bill Belichick helped the team to stand in a straight line. Gronk also helped the Patriots strike that balance between being serious and fun.
Brady and Gronk won four Super Bowls together (3 with the Patriots, one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina
